Local Officials React to School Shooting in Connecticut

Local officials have issued official statements regarding Friday's tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. - though many are saying there are just no words to describe how awful they feel for all the victims and their families, friends and co-workers.

For one local official, the incident hits a little too close to home.

Congresswoman Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo) was once herself a victim of a horrific shooting. 

Speier was present during the Jonestown massacre of 1978, which ultimately killed then-local Congressman Leo Ryan. Speier was serving as his aide at the time and was accompanying him on a fact-finding mission to Jonestown when the shooting occurred.

Speier said Friday afternoon she is at a loss for words in response to Friday's tragic massacre in Connecticut that has shocked the entire nation.

"Watching in horror and disbelief at what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary School this morning, I can’t find words to describe the shock and sadness I am feeling for the children and adults who were senselessly murdered," Speier said.

"My thoughts and prayers are with the parents, families and school employees in Newtown, Connecticut who are confronting an unspeakable tragedy," she said.

The mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School Friday morning horrified the nation and left parents questioning how they can protect their children.

Twenty-seven people were killed—the majority of them children between the ages of 5 and 10—at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The violence is the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

"The senseless taking of 26 lives raises so many questions about why this happened and what can be done to make certain it is not repeated elsewhere. But these questions have been asked before and each time the response has been one of grief followed by inaction," Speier said.

"Perhaps, this latest tragedy will lead to the kind of policies that will effectively prevent troubled people in this country from obtaining guns capable of massacring innocent people," she said.

California Senator Leland Yee

Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco/San Mateo), has issued a statement following the tragic mass shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut Friday morning.

"As a father, child psychologist, and legislator, my thoughts and prayers go out to the children and families of Newtown," Yee said.

"In a year with so many appalling acts of gun violence, this is the most shocking of such tragedies. While we do not have all the details behind this senseless and unconscionable massacre, it is a sad and horrific reminder of what is possible when guns get into the wrong hands. We must limit access to weapons that can result in such catastrophe and mass murder."

After the mass killing of six people in August at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin, Yee told Patch that he wanted stricter regulations on the purchase of weapons. 

The mass shooting at a Connecticut elementary school Friday morning horrified the nation and left parents questioning how they can protect their children.

Twenty-seven people were killed—the majority of them children between the ages of 5 and 10—at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. The violence is the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history.

Schools are perceived as a safe place for kids, though few have security measures in place to defend against violence like what happened at Sandy Hook School.

Parents were notified by a reverse 911 call that went out to all Newtown public school families, NBC reported.

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